Lighting unit



2, 1941. l. A. YosT arm. 54,

LIGHTING gum I 1 Filed Sept. 1, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS Wr/fla: A. Pen/701a and WITNESSES:

Dec. 2,1941. L osr IETAL 2,264,689

- LIGHTING UNIT Filed Sept. 1, 1939 3 Shee'lis-Sheet 2 WITNESSES: mvsmons [MY/715 A Pennaw and Patented Dec. 2, 1941 LIGHTING UNIT Irvine A. Yost, Lakewood, and Willis A. Pennow, Cleveland, Ohio, assignors to Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application September 1, 1939, Serial No. 293,110 13 Claims. (01. zit-4.2)

Our invention relates, generally, to lighting units and, more particularly, to runway marker or contact lights suitable for marking or indicating the boundaries of the runways or landing areas of airports and the like.

Heretofore, it has been the usual practice in the marking of airport runways and landing areas to utilize a lighting unit which projects a highly concentrated beam of light in a vertical direction up from the sides of the runway, thus outlining the runway only to a pilot of a plane directly over the airport.

In order to more effectively mark or outline the runway it has been found desirable to utilize contact lights which direct a major portion, on the order of 90 percent, of the lumen output within a distribution area defined by the horizontal and about 10 degrees from'the horizontal.

It has also been found desirable to utilize a light source which produces a light having the greatest sensitivity to the eye which is the yellow portion of the light spectrum. The light produced by a sodium lamp is practically all of one wave length and is in the yellow portion of the spectrum. The desirability and necessity for using light of this kind presented the problem of providing a suitable lighting unit for use with a sodium lamp, and it is to this problem that applicants invention is primarily directed.

Accordingly, it is the object of our invention, generally stated, to provide for utilizing a sodium lamp for the marking and outlining of airport runways and landing areas.

A more specific object of our invention is to provide a runway marker or contact light which shall be of simple and compact construction, economical to manufacture and install and which shall function to effectively mark the runway or landing area.

Another object of our invention is to provide a runway marker or contact light, which may be partially embedded in the runway surface with its upper end exposed and of such construction that it may be readily opened above the ground level for relamping, removal of parts or other maintenance and repair purposes.

A further object of our invention is to provide a lighting unit of the above character wherein provision is made for readily removing the lamp,

lamp socket and other auxiliary control elements as a unitary assembly through a top opening in the housing located above ground level and which is covered by a removable cover plate during normal use of the light.

A still rurther'object of our invention is to prolighting unit is installed and the current supply conductors are brought into the housing thereof.

vide a lighting unit of the above described character which is so constructed that a sodium lamp, orlamp of similar nature, which must be operated under relatively high temperature conditions, maybe successfully used therein without the use of the enclosing glass flasks ordinarily required by these lamps.

Another object of our invention is to provide a light of the above described character having side windows for emitting light from the source which are protected against breakage by guard members forming a part of the exposed cover plate and which are removable with thecover plate to facilitate cleaning of the side windows.

A further object of our invention is to provide a runway marker or contact lighting unit which utilizes an elongated light source in the nature of a sodium lamp, or the like, and which functions to direct or concentrate the light emitted thereby in a vertically narrow zone extending at a slight angle to the horizontal plane or ground level and also to concentrate the light in certain areas in the horizontal plane.

These and other objects of our invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a runway marker light constructed in accordance with our invention,

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the marker light of Fig. 1 with a portion of the top cover plate broken away,

Fig.3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the light, taken along lines III,III of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is' an end view in elevation and partly insection taken along lines IV-IV of Fig. 2,

Fig, 5 is an end view in elevation and partly in section taken along line V-V of Fig. 2, and

Fig. '6 is an end view in elevation and partly The preferred embodiment of our invention comprises a unitary metallic housing, elongated in shape and having an enlarged section at one end formed by making the housing of greater depth throughout a portion of its length. The housing is open at the top and is provided with oppositely disposed side openings closed by transparent plates to provide side windows to emit light from the source. The light source comprises an elongated lamp, preferably a sodium lamp, or the like, which is mounted within the shallow portion of the housing in a horizontal position between the side windows. The lamp is supported in this position by the lamp socket which is mounted on a porcelain block to which downwardly extending contact fingers are attached for the purpose of conducting current to the lamp and holding a film cut-out device. A control switch for the lamp is supported from the opposite side of the porcelain block and suitably wired to the socket and contact fingers to provide a unitary socket assembly. The socket assembly is supported by a receptacle which is mounted in the enlarged end of the housing and has contact sockets or member which are engaged by the contact fingers of the socket assembly. By means of this arrangement the lamp and socket assembly may be readily removed from the housing through the top opening for relamping or other maintenance purposes. The top opening of the housing, which is located above ground level is covered by a detachable cover plate which may be removed to open the housing without dirt or water getting into the housing and is provided with guard members which extend downwardly over the glass plates of the side windows to protect them from breakage. When the cover plate is removed, the side windows are exposed and made accessible for clean- A reflector is mounted beneath the lamp in spaced relation to the bottom of the housing to provide a dead air space beneath the lamp to conserve the heat as much as possible, redirect heat into the lamp and also to redirect a certain portion of the light output.

The housing is divided into two compartments, one of which houses the lamp and the other the socket assembly and receptacle, by means of a transverse partition formed by an upwardly extending fin member in the housing and a complementary downwardly extending fin member on the bottom of the cover plate. The base or neck of the lamp extends through an opening in this partition. By means of this arrangement, together with the dead air space beneath the reflector, the heat produced by the lamp is conserved to maintain the high temperature conditions necessary for the successful operation of a sodium lamp and makes it possible to use the lamp without the enclosing glass flask normally used with these lamps.

The marker light is installed by partially embedding it in the runway surface with the top and side windows exposed whereby it may function to effectively illuminate and mark the runway and be run over by the landing wheels of airplanes without injury thereto. It is of watertight construction with a minimum of joints between parts, all of which are above ground level and sealed.

Referring now to the drawing and to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 in particular, which show both the external appearance and internal arrangement of the unit, it will be observed that it comprises,

hicles without injury thereto, and also in such manner that it may be utilized with an elongated light source to produce a light distribution which is confined to avertically narrow zone extending at a slight angle from the horizontal. The casing is preferably of one-piece cast construction having a fiat or level top surface, an enlarged end portion I 3 and a shallow end portion [4. The enlarged end portion 13 of the casing is provided with threaded openings l5 at the bottom thereof to receive the wiring conduit Hi, the installation of the unit being made, as shown in Fig. 6.

In order to provide a casing for housing the light source and other elements of the unit which is waterproof and which may be opened to give access to the interior thereof without the danger of dirt and other foreign matter accidentally getting into the casing, it is provided with a single top opening I! which extends substantially throughout the length thereof. This top opening extends above the ground level and is provided with a solid cover plate I 3 which may be detachably secured to the casing by means of the screws l9. It will be understood that when this cover plate 18 is removed, the entire interior of the casing is made accessible for inspection.

In order to emit light from the casing, the sides of the shallow portion 14 are provided with elongated openings extending longitudinally thereof which are covered by means of transparent members 2 I, which are preferably in the form of impact resisting plate glass. As shown in Fig. 5, the plates 21 are so mounted that they slope inwardly in order that the light from the source I l is directed upwardly from the horizontal at a slight angle. These plates may be attached to the sides of the casing in any suitable manner such as by means of the clips 22, suitable gaskets 23 being interposed between the casing and the plates in order to provide a water-tight joint. It will be understood from the foregoing that this construction provides a casing having oppositely disposed windows in the sides thereof through which the light from the source may be directed at the desired angle with respect to the horizontal or ground level.

The light source H, which is preferably in the form of an elongated lamp of the sodium vapor type, is mounted within the shallow portion I4 of the casing [0 between the side windows in a horizontal position. In order to provide for mounting the lamp in this position, and also to provide for the ready removal of the lamp and all of the control accessories utilized therewith, the mounting assembly I2 is constructed in two parts. The first part comprises a socket assembly 24 and the second part a receptacle 25. The socket assembly 24 in this instance is made up of the lamp socket 26, an insulating block 21 and the temperature control switch 28. As shown best in Fig. 4, the insulating block 21 is provided with contact prongs 29 which extend downwardly and engage suitable contact elements in the receptacle 25. These contact prongs 23 not only function to support the socket assembly 24 in the desired position and conduct current to the lamp but also may be utilized for holding the usual film cut-out device 3|. The insulating block may be also provided with finger grips 30 at the top thereof in order to facilitate removal of the socket assembly from the casing. In this instance the receptacle 25 is mounted on suitable lugs 32 which extend upwardly from the bottom of the casing and, as shown in Fig. 4, is provided with terminal members 33 which are connected to the incoming leads 34. The contact prongs 29, temperature responsive switch 28 and the socket 25 are connected together electrically in a well known manner to provide for the proper control and operation of the lamp.

In order to provide for utilizing a sodium lamp in a unit of this kind, it is necessary to maintain the proper temperature conditions under which the lamp is intended to operate. This is usually done by means of a separate glass enclosing flask which maintains the lamp at a relatively high operating temperature. In this instance, because of the limited space available for mounting the sodium lamp, the usual enclosing flask cannot be used, and in order to make it possible to eliminate this flask, the casing has been so constructed as to conserve the heat from the lamp to a high degree. This has been accomplished by forming the easing into two separate compartments, one in which the lamp II is positioned and the other in which the mounting assembly I2 is positioned. These two compartments are provided by means of a partition which is formed by means of an upwardly extending fin member 35 on the bottom of the casing and a downwardly extending fin member 36 on the cover plate I8. An opening is provided therein through which the base of the lamp extends.

In order to provide for further conserving the heat from the lamp, a curved reflector 3! is mounted thereunder on bosses 38, as shown in Fig. 5. This reflector is so positioned with respect to the bottom of the shallow portion M of the casing that it provides a dead air space directly beneath the lamp which functions as a heat insulating medium between the lamp and the bottom of the casing.

It is to be understood, however, if gaseous discharge lamps requiring the maintenance of extremely high operating temperatures are to be used, 'a transparent tube closed at one end may be positioned over the lamp :and thin metal sheets positioned within the space between the outside of the lamp and the inside of the tube to assist in maintaining such temperature. In this instance the metal sheets or strips would be positioned so that the longitudinal openings formed thereby correspond to those in the casing covered by the transparent plates.

The free end of the lamp II is supported by means of spring members 39 mounted on the bosses 38 which extend upwardly from the bottom of the casing.

In order to provide for protecting the side windows against breakage and at the same time -make them readily accessible for cleaning from the outside, the cover plate 18 is provided with spaced guard members 4| which extend downwardly over the windows, as shown. These guard members are preferably formed integrally with the cover plate so that when it is removed, they are also removed therewith. The lower ends 42 of the guard members may rest directly upon the shoulder 43 formed by the lower edge of the side opening in the casing and thereby function to support the cover plate without subjecting the side windows to any strain.

As shown in Fig. 6, the unit is mounted by partially embedding the casing in the surface of the runway, the electrical connections being made below the ground level and through the conduit 3 16, as shown. These contacts and the lower part of the large portion of the casing are sealed with a suitable compound in order to exclude moisture from the casing.

Accordingly, it will be understood that by means of this construction and method of mounting, the unit may be opened only at the top, which is above ground level. Since the removal of the cover plate not only permits access to the entire interior of the casing but also uncovers the side windows, it is apparent that repair and maintenance work may be done without in any way opening joints which are located below the ground level.

In View of the foregoing description, it will be readily understood that we have provided a lighting unit for use in the marking and outlining of runways and landing areas which will function to produce a desired light distribution of the best visibility, and wherein provision is made for readily gaining access to the interior of the casing of the unit for maintenance and repair purposes without opening it below the ground level. We have also provided a unit of this character which is of simple and rugged construction, the parts therein including the lamp and socket assembly which are most likely to require maintenance and repair being so arranged that they may be removed from the casing as a unitary assembly. The lighting unit of our invention is also particularly adapted for use with the sodium lamp which has been found to produce a light of the most desirable color for the illumination and marking of runway surfaces. It is to be understood, however, that other forms of elongated light sources may be utilized instead of the sodium lamp.

Since certain changes may be made in the above described construction and difierent embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing, shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

We claim as our invention:

1. A-runway marker light adapted to be set into thesurface of the runway comprising an elongated housing open at the top and having elongated light-emitting windows in the two opposite sidesthereof, said housing being closed at its ends, a lamp socket mounted within the housing at one end thereof to support an elongated light source in a horizontal position between said side windows, and a removable cover plate for closing the top opening of the housing whereby light is emitted through the side windows only, said cover plate having spaced guard members extending downwardly over the side windows to protect said windows from breakage.

2. A runway marker light comprising a generally trough-shaped housing member adapted to be set into the surface of the runway and partially extend thereabove, said housing being open at the top and closed at the ends and provided with oppositely disposed elongated side openings in theportion thereof which extends above the runway surface, transparent members covering the side openings, a tubular lamp mounted within the housing between the side openings, said lamp being so positioned that a major portion thereof extends above the lower edge of the side openings, and a cover plate of opaque material detachably secured to the top of the housing, whereby the light emitted through the side openings is concentrated in a vertically narrow zone.

3. A runway marker light comprising a generally trough-shaped elongated housing member adapted to be set into the surface of the runway and partially extend thereabove, said housing being open at the top and closed at the ends and provided with oppositely disposed elongated side openings in theportion thereof which extends above the runway surface, transparent members covering said side openings, an elongated lamp,

means including a socket mounted within the housing atone end thereof 'for supporting the lamp in a horizontal position :betweenithe :side openings, and an opaque cover member for the top opening of the housing provided with'spaced depending portions which extend downwardly over the side openings into engagement with the lower edge of the side openings to protect the transparent cover members thereof and'support the middle section of the cover member.

4. A runway marker light comprising a generally trough-shaped elongated housing adapted to be partially embedded in the runway surface, said housing being open at the top and closed at the ends and provided with oppositely disposed and inwardlyinclined longitudinal side windows adjacent the upper edge thereof, an elongated tubular lamp of the vapor discharge type mounted within the housingin a horizontal position between the side windows, a reflector mounted within the housing beneath the light source in spaced relation to the bottom of the housing to provide a dead air space between the lamp and the bottom of the housing, and a cover plate for the top of the housing detachablysecured to the upper edge thereof in such position as to be above the runway surface, whereby the housing may be opened above the ground level.

5. A runway marker light comprising a generally trough-shaped housing adapted .to be partially embedded in the runway surface, said housing having an elongated opening in the top thereof, a removable top cover and oppositely disposed elongated side windows'in the portion thereof above ground level, said housing being divided into two compartments by means of a transverse partition having an opening therein,

tioning members attached to the housing and the top cover for dividing it into two compartments, an elongated lamp, and a lamp socket detachably mounted in one of said compartments for supporting the lamp within the other compartment in a horizontal position between the side windows, the base of said lamp extending through an opening formed in said partitioning members.

'7. A runway marker light comprising an elongated housing adapted to be partially embedded in the runway surface, said housing being open at the top to provide a relatively large elongated opening and having oppositely disposed elongated side windows in the portion thereof which extends above the level of the runway, said side windows being inwardly inclined, a socket receptacle mounted within the housing at one end thereof, a lamp socket detaohably mounted on the receptacle for supporting an elongated tubular lamp in a horizontal position within the housing between the side windows, said lamp being so positioned that a major portion thereof extends above the lower edge of the side windows, said socket and lamp being readily removable as a unit from the housing through the ill) ill

elongated top opening, and a detachable cover plate for the top opening of the housing.

8. A runway marker light for airports and the like comprising an elongated and relatively flat shaped housing adapted to be partially embedded in the runway surface, said housing having a relatively large elongated opening in the top and oppositely disposed elongated side windows in the portion thereof which extends above the level of the runway, a socket receptacle fixedly mounted within the housing at one end thereof, a socket assembly comprising a lamp socket supported by a film cut-out holder detachably mounted on the receptacle, the lamp socket being positioned to support an elongated lamp in a horizontal position within the housing between the side windows, the socket assembly and lamp being removable from the housing as a unit through the top opening, and a solid cover plate detachably secured to the top of the housing over said opening therein.

9. A runway marker light comprising a relatively shallow elongated housing level across the top and having a greater depth at one end to provide an enlarged end compartment, said housing being open at the top and having'elongated side windows in the portion thereof of lesser depth adjacent the top edge thereof, a receptacle mounted in the enlarged end compartment, a lamp socket, means for supporting the lamp socket from the receptacle, said lamp socket being positioned to support an elongated lamp in a horizontal position between the side windows within the portion of the housing of lesser depth, and a solid cover plate detachably secured to the upper edge of the housing for covering the top opening.

10. A marker light for airport runways 'and. the like comprising, an elongated trough-shaped housing adapted to be partially embedded in the runway surface and having a top opening covered by a detachable solid plate member, said housing being closed at the ends and having inwardly sloping side portions provided with elongated openings adjacent the top edges thereof, glass plates secured to the housing over the side openings to provide side windows in the upper portion of the housing above ground level, an elongated tubular lamp, means mounted within the housing for supporting the lamp therein in a horizontal position between the side windows whereby the light emitted through the side windows is concentrated in a vertically narrow zone extending at an angle of less than ninety degrees from the horizontal.

11. A runway marker light comprising, a onepiece trough-shaped housing having a relativelylarge top opening, said housing being provided with two oppositely disposed elongated openings in the sides adjacent the top edge thereof, a glass cover secured to the side of the housing over each side opening to provide side windows to emit light at the sides of the housing only, a sodium lamp, means for supporting and conducting current to said lamp in a horizontal position between said side windows, a transverse partition in said housing forming separate compartments for the lamp and supporting means, a reflector mounted within the housing beneath the lamp in spaced relation to the bottom of the housing, and a solid cover for the top of the housing, said reflector and transverse partition functioning to conserve the heat of the sodium lamp to make possible its operation without the use of an enclosing flask.

12. A runway marker light for airports and the like comprising a generally trough-shaped elongated relatively shallow housing adapted to be partially embedded in the surface of the runway, said housing having a relatively long top opening covered by a detachable cover plate of opaque material and having narrow elongated inwardly sloping windows in the two opposite sides thereof in the portion of the housing which normally extends above the runway surface to covered by a detachable cover plate, said hous ing being relatively shallow throughout a major portion of its length and having elongated windows in the two opposite sides of its shallow portion which normally extends above the runway surface, a lamp socket mounted within one end of the housing for supporting a tubular lamp of the vapor discharge type within the shallow portion of the housing in a generally horizontal position between the side windows of the housing, said lamp being so positioned with respect to said side windows that the light emitted is concentrated in a vertically narrow zone at a slight angle to the horizontal, and a reflector mounted beneath the lamp in spaced relation to the bottom of the housing to create a dead air space between the lamp and the bottom of the housing, thereby to conserve the heat from the lamp and maintain proper temperature conditions for its operation.

IRVINE A. YOST. WILLIS A. PENNOW. 

